Lin Xiaolu's Resolve

"So, this is your explanation? You've been whispering among yourselves all day, discussing this kind of thing?"

The following evening, in the living room of the Secret Base, illuminated by bright lights, Larkspur crossed her arms and said irritably, "You just jumped to such a conclusion and then turned around and spouted nonsense to Bo Xue? Why don't you just say I'm your real mother?"

"Huh? Is that even possible?" Lin Xiaolu exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmm?" the Larkspur said reproachfully.

"Waaah..."

After being warned again by Larkspur, Lin Xiaolu could only sit down on the sofa dejectedly, saying with a frustrated expression, "Okay, I was wrong."

Just now, she was mercilessly scolded by Larkspur.

Larkspur first asked Lin Xiaolu in a serious tone: Why did you come to such an absurd conclusion? After listening to Lin Xiaolu's explanation of her thought process, she ruthlessly refuted several logical flaws in her reasoning, leaving Lin Xiaolu completely speechless and even ashamed.

What Larkspur said seemed to make sense. Could it be that I really made a mistake? That would be too embarrassing.

Lin Xiaolu thought to herself with a worried expression.

While she was being scolded, two other girls sat to the side. Bai Jingxuan kept her eyes down, seemingly feeling guilty; Xia Liang covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking as if she was about to burst out laughing.

"Hey you over there, don't gloat."

Noticing Xia Liang's actions, Larkspur glanced at her sideways and slightly raised her chin. "You're clearly different from them, so why are you fooling around with these two kids?"

"I'm older than her," Lin Xiaolu muttered softly.

"I didn't ask you." Larkspur rubbed her forehead.

So Lin Xiaolu shut her mouth, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

"Nonsense? No, not at all."

On the other side, Xia Liang smiled and said with innocent eyes, "I think Xiao Lu's guess makes a lot of sense. I'm convinced by her."

"You were persuaded by her?" Larkspur's cold and clear voice showed a slight fluctuation.

"Isn't that right? Are you shy, young senior?"

Xia Liang looked completely innocent, as if she knew nothing about it, and stared at Larkspur: "I don't think it's necessary. We all support you and your uncle in pursuing your own happiness -- Ouch!"

Before she could finish speaking, she received a sharp tap on the forehead, causing her to swallow the few syllables she was about to utter.

"You're now an accomplice of White Rose. Sit down here."

Larkspur withdrew her hand and pointed to the empty seat next to Lin Xiaolu: "I'm going to have a serious talk with you all today."

"Ah... I've been knocked unconscious. I need a hug and some comforting before I can stand up and walk." Xia Liang didn't stand up or move. Instead, she slumped onto the sofa, weakly covering her forehead.

"Would you like to eat some more?" Larkspur asked, hands on her hips.

"Oh."

So Xia Liang obediently sat down next to Lin Xiaolu.

After scolding Xia Liang, Larkspur finally turned her gaze to Bai Jingxuan, looking at the girl who was sitting there huddled up like a helpless little animal.

Seemingly noticing the Larkspur's gaze, Bai Jingxuan buried her head even deeper.

Only she knew that her problem wasn't just spreading rumors, but also going to the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau to spout nonsense, causing a lot of trouble for the director and others.

Now that Larkspur knows what she said to her uncle, the bureau chief, that day, there's no reason she wouldn't know how she cheated at the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

Thinking of this, Bai Jingxuan didn't dare to look up and meet Larkspur's gaze.

Seeing the child's behavior, Larkspur's already somewhat troubled mood became even more complicated. She couldn't help but feel a headache coming on, followed by a silent sigh.

She really couldn't figure out what to do with Bai Jingxuan. Given the other girl's somewhat delicate state of mind, she didn't even want to say anything to scold her, for fear of upsetting the child again.

Larkspur's rather long silence caught the attention of Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang. The two looked at Larkspur and Bai Jingxuan with some suspicion, and also sensed the subtle atmosphere between them.

"You... don't follow those two seniors and learn bad habits."

After a long silence, Larkspur finally managed to utter, "You should reflect on this carefully."

"Huh? That's it! It's biased!"

"Unfair! Unfair! We oppose discriminatory treatment!"

Seeing that Larkspur's attitude towards Bai Jingxuan had softened significantly, and that her words sounded more like comfort than reprimand, the two girls standing nearby immediately began to argue in dissatisfaction.

Having anticipated their reaction, Larkspur glanced back at them and said calmly, "Do you all think of yourselves as 11-year-olds?"

"Hmm..." Lin Xiaolu hated being treated like a child, so she fell silent after hearing this.

"If the junior approves, I can be it." Xia Liang didn't care about any of that and puffed out her chest confidently.

With the most pronounced curves among the four, her outstretched chest immediately caught Lin Xiaolu's attention, causing Lin Xiaolu's eyes to widen slightly.

Hearing Xia Liang's words and connecting them to the scene before her, for some reason, the thought in her mind suddenly turned into words that blurted out, "Why do you think you're 11 years old?"

"Why can't I be 11 years old?" Xia Liang's eyes widened as well.

"A precocious girl trying to act young! Don't tell me you're 11, people would believe you're 15!" Lin Xiaolu rebuked sharply.

"Oh, you're jealous?"

Lin Xiaolu's words immediately brought a knowing smile to Xia Liang's face, and she narrowed her eyes slightly. "Indeed, after all, I'm not like someone whose height is about to be surpassed by a real 11-year-old."

"Huh? What do you mean by 'real 11 years old'? Xiao Xuan is clearly taller than a normal 11-year-old girl!" Lin Xiaolu argued.

"So you're shorter than a normal 14-year-old, huh?" Xia Liang said smugly.

"Height is something...there's no standard for this! Isn't Larkspur shorter than me? She's an adult!" Lin Xiaolu pointed at Larkspur.

"Senior... Hmm, it seems so." Xia Liang looked troubled.

"Stop, you two, stop for a second."

Seeing that the topic of their bickering had somehow shifted to her, Larkspur quickly intervened. "Don't forget your current positions. Even though I'm just your senior now, I still hope that you'll show basic respect to the person involved when you make a mistake."

"Yes--"

Xia Liang drawled in agreement, but before she could remain silent for even two seconds, she changed the subject again. "Then I have one last question. After you ask it, you can do whatever you want with me."

"I'm not some brutal executioner, don't make it sound so scary."

Larkspur frowned slightly. "Ask away."

"I want to know the truth, young senior. How exactly did this story reach you?"

Xia Liang rested her chin on her hand, her gaze towards Larkspur slightly inquiring, "Xiao Lu should have only told me, Xiao Xuan, and Moko. Xiao Lu and I would never talk nonsense, and Xiao Xuan is such a well-behaved child, she shouldn't either. Could it be that Moko has betrayed us?"

"Yes! How would Larkspur know that!"

Lin Xiaolu, belatedly realizing what was happening, then flew into a rage. "That Moko! He actually betrayed us just to flatter us! I'm going to go and grab him right now for a confrontation!"

After saying that, he stood up from the sofa and went upstairs to look for Moko.

"Stop, I said stop."

Larkspur quickly reached out and pulled her back, saying with a hint of helplessness, "Don't go up there and cause trouble for Nini, it's not Moko."

"Not Moko?"

Lin Xiaolu's previously annoyed expression immediately calmed down, and she blinked her eyes in confusion. "Who could it be?"

Her gaze swept over Xia Liang beside her, only to see Xia Liang shake her head; her gaze then turned to Bai Jingxuan in the distance, but she looked away before Bai Jingxuan could react; finally, she pointed to herself, her lips parting in surprise to reveal her white canine teeth: "Could it be—"

"Yes, it's me."

Bai Jingxuan raised her hand, interrupting Lin Xiaolu.

She raised her right hand to assert her presence and said in a small but clear voice, "It was I who said it."

After thinking for a moment, she felt that this explanation wasn't specific enough, so she added, "I let it slip to my dad."

This statement immediately drew everyone's attention to her.

"Dad, Dad?"

Lin Xiaolu repeated the word with some confusion, clearly puzzled. She knew that Bai Jingxuan had previously lived in an orphanage, a harsh environment, but the word "father" shouldn't have come out of her mouth at this time.

However, as she gradually came to her senses and deduced the truth from her own assumptions, she quickly realized who Bai Jingxuan's "father" was.

Startled, her already gaping mouth opened even wider. "The father you're talking about... Ah? So you've already secretly planned this far?"

Seemingly realizing her behavior was inappropriate, she quickly covered her mouth, but the shock in her eyes remained undiminished. She looked at Larkspur, her heart filled with mixed joy and worry. "Doesn't this mean..."

The Larkspur did not refute her.

It wasn't that she didn't want to argue, but rather that she simply hadn't heard what Lin Xiaolu was saying.

Bai Jingxuan's words were no less impactful than those in the director's office, but this time, saying those words in front of Lin Xiaolu was far more damaging, to the point that Lin Xiaolu's breath caught in her throat for a moment.

"... Explain again, how come it's your father?"

She turned to Bai Jingxuan and tried her best to ask questions calmly as usual, but her tone had already become almost imperceptibly off.

"Because! When I shouted that, Dad didn't deny it!"

After mustering her courage, Bai Jingxuan's voice became much louder. She raised her voice, making sure everyone could hear her clearly, and said, "Dad accepted it! He even gently asked me who said it! So I told him!"

This time, both the volume and the content were clearly transmitted to the Larkspur's ears.

She stood there like a statue, her face still showing a cold and indifferent expression, but both her movements and her eyes were completely frozen.

After a long silence, she finally turned her head slowly to the side, her gaze moving towards Lin Xiaolu, and finally meeting Lin Xiaolu's burning gaze.

"It's not what you think," Larkspur said curtly.

"I understand! I completely get it!"

Lin Xiaolu, however, spoke with some excitement, "Larkspur, you don't need to worry about my opinion, I support you!"

"Although I don't actually want to have a stepmother, if you, Larkspur, have this idea, I... I'm not entirely unable to accept it!"

"My mom appeared to me in a dream a few days ago. In the dream, she handed me over to you. I think that means she supports you becoming my mother!"

--What nonsense is this girl spouting?

Larkspur's lips twitched slightly, but she knew that getting agitated would be pointless at this moment, so she continued in a calm tone, "No, it's really not what you think. I have absolutely no intention of getting married..."

"It's because when you and my mom both liked Dad, you chose to back out, right?"

Lin Xiaolu wiped her eyes for some reason, her voice slightly choked. "I've completely figured it out. I understand everything about the past, about you, my mother, and my father."

"Larkspur, you and Mom were teammates, and you were both childhood sweethearts with Dad, but in the end, you had disagreements about your relationship. Because you were too gentle, you probably chose to withdraw at that time, right?"

"You sacrificed your own feelings, so you chose to go to the Magic Kingdom. And because your mother passed away, you want to return to the city where you used to live to protect it."

"That's why I've never gotten married and remain single, even though I'm already this age... Really, you've worked so hard."

"Although I still have a little bit of undue resentment in my heart, I feel that I shouldn't stop you from choosing your own happiness, and I should support you!"

Finally, moved for some reason, she grasped the Larkspur's hand and said with deep affection:

So, you don't need to care about my opinion anymore! Go ahead and pursue your own happiness!

Seeing Lin Xiaolu holding her hand, Larkspur felt her vision become slightly unfocused.

What is this girl saying? What is she trying to express? And doesn't the person she's talking about sound familiar?

Her mind was filled with chaotic thoughts, but she knew it was far from time to give up. The more critical the moment, the more she should remain calm and let the rumors end with the wise.

So, how exactly should I explain this? What reason could I give to bypass Lin Xiaolu's bizarre logic and convince her again that "Lin Yun" and "Larkspur" had no romantic entanglement?

In an instant, Larkspur unleashed a brainstorming session all to himself, rapidly searching for suitable solutions and justifications.

"Xiao Lu, you can't do this. The senior isn't resisting exposing this relationship to you."

But before Larkspur could come up with a new excuse, Xia Liang suddenly spoke up.

With an understanding smile, like a pure Cupid, she said, "To be honest, she's just not ready to accept the role of 'mother' yet. She's not ready to accept a daughter like you."

"Accept me... as your daughter?"

As if she had discovered a new continent, Lin Xiaolu repeated Xia Liang's words, "Is there a problem with this?"

"Of course there's a problem."

Xia Liang put her hands behind her back, a bright smile on her face, "So, you have to make her feel that being your mother isn't a bad thing, and that it won't be a burden to her."

Lin Xiaolu was stunned.

She understood what Xia Liang was trying to say.

She looked again at the vacant Larkspur in front of her, and subconsciously opened her mouth, but felt a sudden dryness in her throat.

Her lips closed gently, then opened again, her canine teeth tapping lightly with her movements. Then, she uttered a consonant that was neither a flat nor a retroflex consonant.

"Mother."

In the heat of the moment, she uttered a word that even she found hard to believe.

"Mother!"

Bai Jingxuan, who was standing nearby, seemed to realize something as well, and ran over to Larkspur's side, calling out to her.

"Mother!"

"Mother!"

The two girls, one big and one small, gathered around the Larkspur, calling out the same word over and over again.

Sandwiched between them, Larkspur remained silent, letting them repeat the most common words in human language like children who had just learned to speak.

She didn't look at Lin Xiaolu, Xia Liang, or Bai Jingxuan. Her gaze was fixed on the distant void, as if she were looking at the vast starry sky and the Milky Way, or as if she were looking at an endless abyss.

All that remains is emptiness.